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LAT: Ron Paul campaign donors set new record

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/rp.html Breaking News: Ron Paul campaign donors set new record Well, it looks like Ron Paul, the 10-term

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, Dec 17, 2007

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/rp.html
Breaking News: Ron Paul campaign donors set new record
Well, it looks like Ron Paul, the 10-term Republican congressman from
Texas with the libertarian ideas, and his brave band of fervent
followers have broken their own one-day online fundraising record.

Back in November, the Paul campaign reported raising $4.2 million
online in one day with what they call a "money bomb," a fundraising
gimmick devised by Trevor Lyman, a musician and self-appointed Paul
fundraiser profiled by The Times Dan Morain yesterday. Sunday's
gimmick was to celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party on a
website with a drawing of Paul that looks remarkably like that
president on the penny.

As of shortly after midnight Sunday night Pacific time, the Paul
website was reporting more than $6 million raised on Sunday from more
than 30,000 donors and an amazing fourth-quarter fundraising total
surpassing $18.1 million. The little-known pro-life Texan, who favors
abolishing much of the federal government and the Federal Reserve,
could raise the most money of any Republican candidate this quarter. A
spokesman said the average donation was $50.

If the reported number holds up when officially reported to the
Federal Election Commission in early January, Paul will not only be
the only Republican candidate to oppose the Iraq war, he'll be the
only GOP candidate to increase fundraising totals each quarter this
year--from $640,000 to $2.4 million to $5.1 million to whatever this
quarter's final total becomes above $18 million with two weeks to go.

Although Paul's poll numbers have only climbed from zero to the high
single digits, the fundraising totals (he raised five times as much as
Mike Huckabee in the third quarter) have brought "the Ron Paul
Revolution" broader attention and credibility and the ability to
advertise in the early voting states. With the funds his campaign has,
among other things, produced a 30-minute TV biographical documentary
to be broadcast across Iowa this coming weekend and available online
here. Next Sunday morning a network TV audience will get a chance to
see him grilled by Tim Russert for a full hour on "Meet the Press."

His legions of alert supporters scour the internet for slights to
right, frequently crudely, and any opportunities to promote their
strict constructionist candidate. They dismiss the polls as slanted
and the money-raising as the real indicator of the 72-year-old
ob-gyn's growing national support among disaffected Republicans,
Democrats and previous non-voters. The Times James Rainey examined one
Southern California meet-up group for Paul here.

We've written about these supporters here and examined hundreds of
their comments here. No doubt there'll be some more to read down below
here shortly.

--Andrew Malcolm

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